Tire-protector.



.l. O. HOWARD.

ms PROTECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8 |9|4. v v 1 299 355 Patented Oct. 3,1916.

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.INVENTOR J 012 award BY M ' ATTORNEYS m: NHRRIS PETERS co PNOTD-LITNOwAsmncmN. u. c

J. 0. HOWARD- TIRE PROTECTOR.

APPLlCATlON FILED JUNE 8. 1914; 1,200,355. Patented Oct. 3,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHFET 2.

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: INVENTOR QZ'QHJwaId WITNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH 0L HOWARD, or Aus'rriv, TEXAS.

TIRE-PROTECTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 3, 1916.

Application filed June 8, 1914. Serial No. 843,650.

' protected tire.

It is another object of the invention to provide a metallic tireprotector that will combine perfect flexibility with great strength anddurability, and which will be so formed that its constituent parts maybe stamped out at a comparatively low cost of manufacture.

Finally it is the object of my invention to provide a device of thecharacter described, that will be strong, durable, simple and efficientand comparatively easy to construct.

With these and various other objects in view, my invention has relationto certain novel features of the construction and use, an example ofwhich is described in the following specification, and is illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top or exterior view of a fragmentary portion of mymetallic tire protector. Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken upon the linewae of Fig. 1, showing the protector applied to a tire. Fig. 3 is asectional view taken upon the line aa of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detailperspective view, showing the disassembled parts of a metallic stud, aplurality of which are used to provide the wearing surface of my tireprotector. Fig. 5 is a top or exterior view showing a portion of amodified form of my tire protector. Fig. 6 is a sectional view of thesame, the section being taken upon the line y@ of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 isanother sectional view of the modification, the section being taken uponthe line 6-?) of Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is a top or exterior view of anothermodification of terior view showing still another modified form of myinvention. Fig. 12 is a section taken upon the line cZ-d of Fig. 11.Figs.

13 and 14 are respectively sectional views taken upon the lines e@ andff of Fig.11.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, wherein like referencecharacters designate similar parts in all the figures, the numeral 1denotes a plurality of metallic plates, each of which is formed withfour equidistant hooks 2, having a radial relation to the center of theplate. Each hook of each plate 1 is connected with one of the hooks ofanother plate 1 by an oval shaped wire link 3, so proportioned as topermit a slight space to intervene between the two connected hooks, whenthe tire protector is stretched. To prevent the links 3 becomingdisengaged from the correlated hooks, and to also give to the tireprotector a durable wearing surface, a plurality of composite studs areemployed. Each stud comprises a head 4 of convex shape, and a shankintegrally projecting from the center of said head, comprising a squareportion 5 adjacent to the head and a threaded end portion 6, whichengages in a disk shaped nut 7. The square portion 5 of each stud isengaged within a similarly shaped aperture centrally formed in one ofthe plates 1. The heads 4 abut against the top surfaces of the plates 1,while the nuts? are contiguous with the ends of the hooks 2 and arescrewed tight against shoulders formed at the junctures of the parts 5and 6 of the stud shanks. That face of each nut 7 which comes adjacentto the tire will preferably be concaved to conform to the tirecurvature. Each nut 7 is dished to receive a disk-shaped member 8 formedpreferably of cork, said member being interposed between the tire andthe studs to protect the tire from being worn or out through contactwith the metal studs. By linking together a suificient number of theplates 1, and correlating the metallic studs with each face, there isformed an elongated flexible band of such length as to be adapted toencircle a tire.

The manner of establishing a joint between the extremities of theelongated band is illustrated in Fig. 3. The plates 1 at the joint arethe same as throughout the entire belt, but the studs differ in that themembers 9 and 10 forming the stud shanks are in this instance formedintegral with heads 11, which at the joint occupy the position elsewhereoccupied by the nuts 7. The portion 9 of each shank which comes adjacentto the correlated heads 11 is squared as at .L to engage within acentral aperture of the correlated plates 1, but the reduced endportions 10 of the shank at the joint are not threaded. Said parts 10 inthis instance serve merely to center thread members 12 having preciselythe same shape as the member 4: and centrally apertured to receive themembers 10. The member 12 of each stud is held in a rigid relation withthe other parts of said stud by a screw 13 entering the stud shank andhaving its head counter-sunk in said member 12 as is clearly illustratedin Figs. 1 and 3. The protective cork member 8 elsewhere receiving eachof the nuts 7 is at the joint made to receive each of the heads 11. Todisengage the two joined ends of the tire protector it is necessarymerely to remove the screws 13, whereupon the studs may be withdrawnfrom the joint and the series of hooks 2 on the plates 1 from which thestuds were removed may be disengaged from the correlated links 3.

In that modified form of my invention, which is illustrated in Figs. 5,6 and 7, the hooked plates 1, and the studs correlated with said platesremain as in the first described form of my invention, and will bemaintained in substantially the same spaced relation. In thismodification, the links 3 are eliminated, and in their stead, aplurality of metallic octagonal plates 14 are used, each formed withfour slots 15 equidistantfrom each other and from the center of theplates, and each plate 14 being equidistant from four 01 the plates 1each having one of its hooks 2 engaging in one of the slots 15 of saidplates. In this construction as in the first described form of myinvention, the heads 4 of the studs will take all of the wear.

In that form of my invention which is illustrated in Figs. 8, 9 and 10,there are used a plurality of substantially square me tallic plates 16,the corners of which are clipped. These plates are slightly spaced onefrom another, and a connection is established between each two adjacentplates by an oval metal link 17 considerably wider than the links usedin the first described form of my device. Each link 17 is passed throughtwo slots 18, respectively formed in the two joined plates near theirparallel edges. The ends of each link 17 are dovetailed together as isclearly shown in Fig. 8, so that said ends may not readily pull apartwhen the link is placed under a strain. Be-v tween the clipped cornersof each four closely adjacent plates 16,there is formed an aperturethrough which is passed the shank of a stud 19 having integral headsoverhanging both faces of the four adjacent plates 16. The top orexterior head of said studs constitutes the tread or wearing surface ofmy tire protector, while the interior or underside heads are inc-ased asbefore by a disk shaped member 20 formed of cork and serving to protectthe tire from direct contact with the studs.

In the fourth modified form of my device (illustrated in Figs. 11, 12,13 and 1 1), there are substituted for the plates 16, three-partextensible plates, each comprising parts 21, 22 and 23, theextensibility being transverse of the tire protector and consequentlytransverse of any tire to which the tire protector maybe applied. Themembers 21 and 22 are U-shaped and incase opposite halves of the plates23. In each of the members 21 and 22, there are mounted fast two spacedpins 24, each of which passes through a slot 25 formed in the plates 23.Each pair of the pins 24 are in an alinement longitudinally of the tireprotector. Connection is established between the three part plates bylinks 17 as has been already described in connection with the deviceillustrated in Figs. 8, 9 and 10, and the studs used with the extensibletire protector are also exactly the same as the studs 19 alreadydescribed. A tire equipped with the above-described type of tireprotector will be positively insured against injury from any sharpobstacles that may be encountered in the path of the wheel carrying thetire.

The invention is presented as including all such modifications andchanges as properly come within the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is: v

1. In a tire protector, a metallic stud formed of a head, a shank and aconcave base, in combination with a layer of elastic material held toposition in said base.

2. In a tire protector, a metallic stud comprising ahead, a shank and aconcave base in combination with a layer of cork held to position insaid base.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses. I

a JOSEPH O. HOIVARD.

Witnesses;

J. AScmices, PAT MALONE.

Copies of this patent may a obtained for five ents each, by addisiiii'gth comaissaa'r of a u s,

Washington, D. b.

